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A lasting UX partnership: Amadeus & System Concepts' Air Travel Journey
Amadeus, a global leader in travel technology, has partnered with System Concepts since 2008. One of our closest collaborations is with their Airlines Research and Development team, which designs, develops, and refines Amadeus Reference Experience - a responsive and configurable white-label interface used by airlines worldwide.
The Challenge
We have been privileged to support the UX Research & Design team for many years, developing a deeper understanding of their products, technology and commercial goals. The core challenge for each of the projects we undertake is to understand the problem space, clarify objectives and identify how our research will be used. From there we work collaboratively with Amadeus to design studies that deliver the evidence and clarity their teams need to continuously improve Amadeus Reference Experience and other digital airline solutions.
What we did
Our System Concepts team have used both formative and summative research techniques to support Amadeus over the years. Much of the research has been understanding users’ mental models of processes relating to the flight booking process before then testing prototypes of new designs targeting specific elements of that journey.
Across numerous projects, we have provided user research on all steps of a flight booking process including:
Flight search and availability results
Price alerts and fare groups
Seat maps, baggage options, carbon offsetting and special assistance
Shopping cart, checkout and payments
Ticket changes, booking management, airmiles, car hire, flight status, and refunds.
We have also gathered user insights to inform upcoming products and features through
focus groups, desk research, and user interviews. This included understanding traveller experiences during flight cancellations and re-bookings throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring how voice interaction could assist airline passengers, and evaluating how chatbots can improve support during travel disruptions.
Accessibility has been another cornerstone of our work with Amadeus. We have conducted research and prototype testing with travellers with a range of disabilities, conducted WCAG accessibility audits and delivered tailored accessibility training to in-house developers and designers. We also developed comprehensive accessibility guidelines to ensure inclusivity remains embedded throughout the lifecycle of Amadeus’ digital airline products.
Amadeus have also provided us with rare opportunities to bring three of System Concepts’ core areas of expertise together – user experience, accessibility and ergonomics - together when working with Airport kiosks. In these projects, our specialists evaluated the kiosk check-in flow, identifying strengths and areas for improvement to enhance usability and accessibility for all travellers.
Benefits
Our long-standing relationship with Amadeus has proved mutually rewarding. For System Concepts, working with Amadeus has allowed our team to deep-dive into the evolving world of travel technology and contribute to the development of innovative, user-centred products. Often, ‘not seeing a project through’ or ‘not seeing the outcomes of your work’ is considered a key downside of life as a consultant. But seeing users’ feedback and our research recommendations brought to life in subsequent design iterations, and testing those improvements with travellers, is deeply fulfilling and is testament to the emphasis and importance that the Airlines Research and Development team places on user experience.
For Amadeus, the partnership provides access to a dedicated team of UX specialists with deep industry knowledge who can be trusted to deliver robust research and actionable insight. Their teams can approach us to discuss study design ideas, brainstorm solutions, and rely on us to shape research projects, conduct studies, and present findings with as much or as little collaboration from their side as their schedule allows.
Antonin Adert from Airlines R&D – Digital for Airlines says:
“In my team at Amadeus, we have been working with System Concepts for many years. They remain our preferred partner for user testing, discovery research, and prototype evaluation. We have also collaborated extensively on usability and accessibility audits.
What we appreciate most about System Concepts is their ability to bring clarity where there is ambiguity. They consistently offer valuable insights, work efficiently, and deliver reports of exceptional quality—among the best in the industry. I wholeheartedly recommend partnering with them. My only concern is that they may become too in demand to keep working with us!”
We are proud to continue our long-term UX partnership with Amadeus and to support their teams in shaping the digital future of air travel.
If you’d like to start a conversation about how System Concepts can help with your service or product research and development, click on the 'get in touch' button.